Why
by dulcetirony
Summary: He had always been sure of himself. He was a genius, and he knew that, but lately he's feeling insecure, and his girlfriend is the cause of all his problems. Fluff, one shot.


**Disclaimer**

_I do not, and will never, own Naruto._

He'd walked down the street to see his wife to be, only to find a jonin asking her out.

"Temari-san, would you like to go out for dinner with me?"

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. She was about to reply him when she saw Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru! Let's go." She turned to the jonin. "Sorry. I'm not free," she said coldly, then proceeded to grab his hand, a little more forcefully than usual, and dragged him off. She never said anything about it ever since.

It was that day he started to feel insecure. He didn't say anything to her about it, he chose to ignore the dark feeling.

That is, until the day he went to Suna and saw the son of a Feudal Lord proposing to her. "Temari-san, our friendship has been most prosperous, and it is time I take it further. Will you marry me, the fifteenth head of the Haruka clan, and be the mother of my children? You will live a fine and lavish life, I assure you." He was earnest as he was handsome, and Shikamaru felt no reason Temari had to reject him.

He could see her trying to suppress a laugh. "Lord Haruka, I appreciate your gracious request, but I'm afraid I have to decline it." He frowned. "You have a lover?" Something flashed in her eyes, and she smiled at him. "I'm afraid so." She left the disappointed lord and continued walking down the sandy streets.

This bugged him to no end, but he did not pursue it. He hadn't actually thought that Temari had suitors. Sure, his fiancé was hot, but he thought that her scary personality would scare them off. He, with an IQ of over 200, thought wrong.

This happened many times, he witnessed, but Temari never told him anything about it. He, who was always confident, never once doubting himself, was starting to feel insecure. He wondered why Temari didn't leave him for those other men she was much more deserving of, and stayed with him, a lazy asshole. A man who didn't treat her right.

He spent four months speculating when Temari would leave him. Four months of sleepless nights, until one day, he couldn't take it anymore.

He had come home late from a meeting, and Temari was already in bed, sleeping. He washed up and got into bed next to her, but did not lie down as he usually did. Instead, he sat up thinking, and Temari, sensing his presence but not feeling his arms draped over her as they usually did, turned to him and sleepily got up.

"Shikamaru? What's wrong?" Temari, when she was groggy, was timid, unlike her usual self. He let out a frustrated sigh.

"Tem, why did you accept my proposal? Why do you stay with me?" In an instant, Temari didn't feel tired anymore. She grew increasingly worried at Shikamaru for asking something like this.

"What? What do you mean?" She frowned at him, distorting her usually perfect features.

"You're laughing at me, Temari. You've accepted my proposal just for fun, didn't you? Take my heart and break it into little pieces?" He chuckled bitterly. "So many legible men out there waiting for an opportunity to court you, and you chose me? It makes no sense, Tem, and it's breaking me inside out. If you want to leave, just go now."

A mixture of relief, guilt and sadness filled her. Relief that he wasn't breaking up with her, guilt that she didn't tell him about the proposals she had received, and sadness over the fact that she had caused him so much pain. "Shikamaru, you actually thought I was going to leave you? Of course I wouldn't, not for the world. Those men were not important, Shikamaru. That's why I didn't bring them up. They are nothing to you. They may rank higher, so what? You are the one that makes me happy, as cheesy as it sounds, and it's something they'll never achieve. I don't care for any of your faults, Shikamaru. I love you for who you are, not what you do. Do not ever, ever, think I'll leave you." She smiled at him and brushed a stray lock of his hair away.

He smiled, a tiny one, and stroked her face with his thumb. His. She was his entirely. He felt a little more relieved. She had said she'd love him no matter what, and that was enough. She wound her hands around his neck and pulled him in, planting a small kiss on his lips. Then, she let go and grinned more widely, pulling his hand to her stomach.

"Besides, who'd be the father of our baby?"

**A/N **

I spent way too little time on this. I'm sorry. This is based on one of the anecdotes I'm working on. Constructive criticism and reviews are very much appreciated.


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